FCS A BERTIFUL DAY THE NEGHBOURHOOD.. WOT YOU BE WY FRIEND, _ BL CIEARCUT THE Fan ES AN ANY NB ‘HEWS VIEWPOINT Another Al HE TRAGIC death. of James Jor- dan, father of world-class basketball player Michael Jordan, does more ‘than reflect the plague of random violence . sweeping the United States. It serves as a water-line for the:good ship . America circa 4993." .. Jordan. was allegedly shot in the chest “while: sleeping ‘in his’ luxury: automiobile on. a dark, deserted highway in ‘North Carolina by two 18-year-olds.. The : sole alleged, motive of the murder WAS money. The ‘sole . method . of ihe Aaurder was a gin And the sule outcome will ikely be two ” young ‘men — one of whom is still to face armed robbéry charges from an earlier .in- incsrcerated in the federal prison cident -— _ System, Justice served, Hast year in Washington’ s King County, lerican ‘preying on ragedy 3,852 young offenders appeared in court — a 1,500% increase over that county’s 1983 statistics, when 249 young offenders _ap- peared in court. A subculture of armed marauding youth. middle-class citizens longer the fantasy of comic book writers and pulp press hacks. It is a reality in every . State of the union, The death penalty ery will no doubt be is no wailed from sea to. shining sea:the 20th overhaul. century answer to American justice. , And as’ usual, drown out the calls for treatment of the symptoms: a widening class structure; easy: access to handguns; disenfranchised youth; .and a judicial system in meed of serious the revenge roar will i Meanwhile the. water-line continues: its | SHER OF THE Dé Giving Collins space ‘ridiculous’ believes the garbage that he writes. That would. undermine my opi- nion of his intelligence and suggest that he might be pitied as much as censured. Dear Editor: Collins is 2 puzzle to me. He is articulate in speech and writing, ‘must spend considerable time researching his exhortations, and always manages to include some’ easily understood contentious materia]. However, in this research he seems to accept only facts that will support his theories. This could be the unconscious tunnel vision, which is difficult to accept in a man of his supposed Publisher Managing Editor Associate Editor Peter Speck Timothy Renshaw Noel Wright capabilities; or deliberate suppres- sion, which is offensive. Whatever the reason, it is dan- gerous. . Many people are dissatisfied with their lot today. If Collins is as intelligent as he appears to be, he disseminates his carefully chosen doctrine to them knowing full well that most will not look _beyond what he says because it gives them a focal point for their grievances. It_is possible, of course, that Collins is quite sincere and really Display Advertising 980-0511 Real Estate Advertising 985-6982 Classified Advertising 986-6222 985-2131 Distribution Subscriptions Fax Administration 985-2131 § precarious rise. But allowing this man authority of a newspaper column to spread his warped and slanted views does seem ridiculous. I am quite willing to allow this character freedom of speech, but dislike the fact that you are paying him to do his hate- “mongering. David Muir North Vancouver 986-1337 {cee 9 986-1337 BAGS this newspaper 985-3227 § contains 7 recycled hore the, BY LAST WEEK we'd again missed our annual opportuni- 7 ty to save modern society’s sanity. The Dog Days had come and gone once more. The Romans named the period for Canicula, the Dog Star, which from early July until mid-August each year rose in conjunction with the sun. The effects down on Earth were apparently devastating. According to ancient historians, the sea boiled, wines turned to © vinegar, bile increased, dogs went » mad, and human beings suc- cumbed to fevers, hysterics and frenzies. To placate Canicula, the Romans annually sacrificed a brown dog to the angry star. What Canicula was telling them seems clear: let up for a month or so each year, both mentally and physically, or risk going bonkers. The Dog Days were invented, of course, two thousand years before the mass media. Otherwise, news editors, radio newscasters and TV anchorpersons would doubtless have replaced brown dogs on the Romans’ sacrificial pyre. But iv s not yet too late. - Consider just two points. One of the best things about a vacation abroad is the complete absence of ‘any news affecting one personally. It’s grossly unfair that those forced to vacation at home cannot enjoy the same blessed relief for a few weeks each year. It’s equally unfair that politi- cians, professional protesters and doom-and-gloom economists should be forced to slave away 365 days a year at entertaining us, ' with never a single day off. Yet the answer to all this mutual ten- sion and overwork is staring us in the face. From the beginning of July to Aug. 15 simply ban all published — : and broadcast news except weather, tides, sports and lotto results. No need, of course, for the media to close down, unless they wished. Newspapers would fill the : space between the ads by beefing up their feature sections. Radio stations could fill their news breaks with entertainment guides. Re-runs of Ed Sullivan and Bob Hope would make a nice change in prime time TV news slots. Kim Campbell, Joha Crow and Friends of Clayoquot could take the time off — or use it to smarten their act. Media types could focus on squirrelling away dirt for future scandals. The rest of humanity could happily turn its back on al! public problems, causing many of them to disappear of their own accord (no self-respecting public problem Noel Wright has ever survived being totally i ig- Me nored for six weeks). : By mid-August — sanity” restored — we'd be rested, refreshed and ready to handle, another 11 months of. political, .... economic and social turmoil daily in the prints and on the airwaves.” ; With our reward — next July’s Dog Days — getting closer every week! 1 SIGN-OFF: Congrats to North -- Van's Queensdale Gallery, winner of the first prize in the Capilano Duck Race window dressing con- test'— a $1,000 donation to Queensdale’s favorite charity, Wildlife Rescue... Looking for a ° congenial travel companion?: © Travel Mates, the club for solo : travellers aged 40 to 80 meets at: the Park Royal Hotel Saturday, |.’ Aug. 21 — call 739-9615 to. | reserve... Sunday, Aug. 22, brings - the Square Dance Festival to North Van’s Waterfront Park, 2 . to4p.m. rain or shine ~ details = - ‘ from 987-5397... Happy birthday today, Aug. 18, to North Van’s | Clara Peters... Many happy returns of tomorrow, Aug. 19, to” North Van’s Jennifer Adams... And the same again tomorrow to West Van’s Gordon Rowntree. : eee WRIGHT OR WRONG: It’s smart not to believe more than half you hear. The problem i is, which half? Sales & Marketing Director Linda Stewart Comptroller . Doug Foot North Shore News, founded in 1969 as an independent suburban newspaper and qualified under Schedule 111, Paragraph Ill of lhe Excise Tax Act, is published ‘each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday by North Shore Free Press Lid. and distributed to every door on the North Shore. Canada Post Canadian Publications Mait Sales Product Agreement No, 0097238. Mailing rates available on request. Submissions are welcome but we cannot accept sesponsibility for unsolicited material including manuscripts and pictuses which should be accompaniec by a stamped, seli- addressed envelope. Newsroom . North Store managed MEMBER bee netiten is fi SUNDAY « WEDMESOAY - FRIDAY 1139 Lonsdale Avenue, Narth Vancouver, 8.C. V7M 2H4 Entire contents © 1993 North Shore Free Press Lid. All righis reserved. mo, NEWS photo Cindy Goodman GUEENSDALE GALLERY'S Muriel Olson (left) and Susan Herunter | receive their $1,000 first prize for Duck Race window dressing’ from North Van Rotarian en Bassam. SDA DIVISION 61,582 (average circulation, Wednesday, Friday & Sunday) .